


A Christmas to Remember

by hardboiled_egg



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Christmas, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-05
Updated: 2018-02-05
Packaged: 2019-03-14 00:47:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13582467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hardboiled_egg/pseuds/hardboiled_egg
Summary: Korra reveals to Asami why she feels uneasy about Santa and Asami finds just the right cure.





	A Christmas to Remember

„This is so cool!“ Korra exclaimed, eyes big as saucers as she rounded the miniature model of Republic City that stood in the middle of the shopping mall.

Exact copies of City Hall, the police station, even Future Industries Tower were all glistening under a small layer of cotton snow. It was a winter wonderland mini-version of the city center.

“It’s the highlight of the mall’s Christmas decoration every year,” Asami said next to Korra and pointed to a row of small buttons attached to one side of the model. “You can even make the cars drive in circles or turn on several lights.”

Korra needn’t to be told twice, she rushed to the indicated buttons and pressed all of them at once. The miniature model came alive with little Satomobiles driving around all over the city layout and the lights on the Christmas tree in front of City Hall started blinking happily.

“This all looks so real. I wish we had something like this in the South as well.” Korra’s excitement turned to pensiveness. “But then again, if this was a model of the South it would mainly be cotton snow and nothing else.”

“You certainly wouldn’t need a mini version of your home to help you imagine what it looks like with snow,” Asami answered with a shrug.

“True.” Korra’s childlike grin was back and she studied the miniature model some more.

Asami watched her from the sidelines and couldn’t suppress a smile of her own. Korra looked so young and innocent as she rounded the city model to look at it from different angles. No-one who saw her in this moment would ever think that she was the most powerful being in the world.

Right at this moment Korra was just a child at heart, enjoying a day in the mall before Christmas. And Asami was happy that she could spend it with her. After what Korra had been trough in the last few years she deserved a moment of peace. They both did.

“Look,” Asami joined her and pointed to a bunch of figures in one corner, “they even have a little Santa handing out presents to children.”

Korra’s gaze followed Asami’s finger, but when she saw the indicated Santa figure her smile turned uneasy and she cast her eyes downward.

“Yeah, c-cute,” Korra said hesitantly, her voice had lost its previous excitement.

Asami touched Korra’s cheek and lifted her head gently to make her look her into the eyes. “Korra, what’s wrong?”

Korra was quiet for a moment before she finally said: “It’s nothing.”

Asami raised her eyebrow skeptically and Korra continued reluctantly. ”It’s just, when I saw that Santa, I remembered a dream I had a few years back.”

Asami was concerned at once. “A nightmare?”

Korra shook her head. “No, nothing quite that bad. It was just upsetting. And now that I think about it, really stupid. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“If it is still bothering you now, it can’t be that stupid,” Asami said with a sympathetic smile and led her to a small bench nearby where they both sat down. She turned to Korra. “Tell me.”

Korra let out a nervous laugh that sounded more like a sigh and began to talk. “It was one year before I left the South to come to Republic City. I was still living at the White Lotus compound at that time.

“One night, I couldn’t sleep so I wandered the halls and stumbled upon an abandoned room filled with all kinds of scrolls and books. One book that particularly caught my eye was about Christmas and its traditions all over the world. Living as cut off from society as I did then, I had never heard of it before and was intrigued the minute I turned the first page.”

Korra smiled in remembrance of her excitement about Christmas at the time and continued. “I read about Santa Claus and that he lived and worked at the North Pole and visited all the children around the world on Christmas Eve. Of course, I realized that he couldn’t be real, but still it was a nice tale.

“And just thinking about a fat, bearded man in a bright red suit flying around the North Pole with his reindeer made me happy. Especially since the only image of the North I had so far, was about my humorless and stiff uncle and his two dark children whose looks alone could freeze hell over in an instant.”

Asami had to snicker at the not very flattering but accurate picture Korra drew of her uncle and cousins.

“A few days later the three of them visited the compound. One night Unalaq found me reading that same book. He snatched it from my hands and threw it in the fireplace beside him.

“Eska and Desna stood right next to him, illuminated by the flames that were hungrily consuming the pages I held so dear, as Unalaq berated me for enjoying such a stupid and groundless tale. He made me promise him to never even think about Santa Claus again.” Korra paused and Asami was about to say something, when Korra held up her hand to silence her and said, “There’s more.” Asami closed her mouth and waited patiently for Korra to continue.

“That night, when I went to bed I had a dream...”

***

_Korra was looking down at her stubby little fingers. Her whole body had shrunk. Barefoot and only dressed in her baggy pants and sleeveless shirt riding up her protruding belly, she stood in the middle of a plain snow field. She had turned into her four-year-old self._

_In the distance dark mountains covered in snow contrasted the blue sky above. Though there were no landmarks to even guess where this place could be, she somehow knew for sure that she was in the North Pole._

_Korra didn’t feel the cold as she slowly trudged forward, her naked feet touching the snow in a steady rhythm. Wherever she looked, there was nothing but frozen tundra, but somehow, she knew exactly which way to go. It was like an invisible hand gently pulled her in the right direction._

_The sun steadily climbed higher up the sky as Korra walked. Just as it reached its peak, Korra suddenly felt a pleasant warmth spread through her. She stopped and lifted her head to look at the sun in the distance. Its light was engulfing her fully now._

_For a moment, it was so bright that she had to close her eyes. When she opened them again, the frozen nothingness in front of her had made way to a wooden hut that stood majestically in the glistening snow. Thick smoke was coming out of its chimney and the front of the house was decorated with red and white striped candy cones. Little red ribbons were wrapped around the branches of two large fir trees that framed the entrance._

_Korra rubbed her eyes to make sure they weren’t playing tricks on her. When she lowered her hands back down, the hut still stood as tall as before. Suddenly the door of the entrance flew open and two small shadows rushed to her side. Two pairs of little hands grabbed her pants and started dragging her towards the entrance._

_“Come on, he’s waiting for you”, one of the little creatures said with a happy voice while tugging her along._

_Korra looked down – for they were even smaller than her little self – and smiled. Even though they rushed her without warning, she wasn’t afraid of them. On the contrary, she knew who – or rather what – they were. After all, she’d seen them before in her book about Christmas. With their long, pointed ears, red and white striped pants, green jacket and green hat, the two elves looked exactly like the illustrations in the book._

_“Come on, hurry up!” the elves both exclaimed excitedly and pulled her inside._

_As Korra stepped over the threshold she felt like walking into another world. The smell of fresh pine wood, cinnamon and dried orange peels wafted through the air as she gazed around. The interior of the hut was simple but comfy. Four wooden chairs and a table sat next to the entrance and served as a small kitchen. On the other side stood a large bookshelf filled with texts from all around the world._

_But what really caught Korra’s attention was the large fireplace on the far side of the room. Its flames were spreading light and warmth into every nook and cranny of the room. Next to it stood a brightly lit Christmas tree, so tall that the silver star on its top almost touched the ceiling._

_The two elves let go of her pants and scurried to an armchair that stood beside the fireplace. It’s back was turned to Korra, and although she couldn’t see anyone from where she was standing, she knew there was someone sitting in it._

_The two elves beckoned her to come closer and Korra stepped forward. She stopped a few feet in front of the armchair and looked to her feet, her hands clasped shyly in front of her._

_“Don’t be shy child.” A deep voice said gently._

_Korra took a deep breath and looked up. Her heart jumped with happiness as she met the old man’s eyes. Korra mirrored his bright smile. She couldn’t believe it. All the stories she had read about Santa were actually true! And now here she was, in the North Pole, meeting the bearded man himself._

_“Come here, child,” Santa said warmly and held out his white-gloved hand to Korra._

_Just as she was about to crawl into his lap, a strong wind suddenly swept over the fireplace and the flames started dancing wildly. Fueled by the cold air, they grew bigger and bigger until the fireplace couldn’t contain them anymore._

_With a loud roar the flames broke free and mercilessly wrapped themselves around Santa who had stood from his armchair._

_Korra screamed and fell back. She watched in shock as the flames hungrily licked along his red suit. Santa’s face contorted in agony but no sound escaped his lips. The two elves who stood beside him, clutched to his legs in fear. Soon all three of them were completely engulfed by the raging fire._

_Korra helplessly watched them burn, as Santa’s face suddenly changed. His short white hair turned brown and grew out in the back. Two long braids framed his face on both sides. His signature beard disappeared altogether. The former gentle features of his face took on a harsh look and her uncle’s cold grey eyes stared back at Korra._

_“Only fools believe in tales of Christmas. You are a shame to all the Avatars,” Unalaq said, his voice dripping with disdain. Beside him the two elves had turned into her cousins Eska and Desna. Now all three of them, still engulfed by the flames, were looming over little Korra who was slowly crawling backwards on the floor._

_“Never will you so much as think about the name Santa Claus again!” Their voices boomed as one and flames suddenly shot out of Unalaq’s mouth. As they raced towards Korra she screamed again and raised her arms over her head to protect herself from the heat. Suddenly the floor underneath her gave way and she fell into darkness._

***

“That’s when I woke up in my bed at the compound,” Korra said. She was looking at the clasped hands in her lap and let out a soft chuckle that sounded more like a sigh. “Ever since that day, I can’t think of Santa Claus without feeling uneasy.”

Asami didn’t know what to say. She was torn between her rage towards Unalaq who forever took away a part of Korra’s innocence and the need to somehow revive Korra’s excitement for Santa Claus.

Suddenly an idea struck her and her eyes began to glow with mischief. She put her hand on top of Korra’s and gently squeezed them. “I know just the thing to cheer you up again.”

Korra lifted her eyebrow, an unspoken question on her face, but Asami didn’t answer. Instead she stood up and pulled Korra to her feet with her.

“Come on, let’s go!”, she said with a grin and led her to the exit of the mall.

* * *

Korra stood in front of the floor to ceiling window in Asami’s apartment at Future Industries Tower and watched the sun slowly setting over Republic City. In the distance clouds rose into sky, their dark color threatening to bring snow with them.

Korra thought back on the day she spent at the mall with Asami and had to smile. There was only one person that could make her forget her responsibilities as the avatar so easily and let out the child she felt stirring inside her sometimes. And now she was standing in that person’s apartment, waiting for her to come out of her bedroom and show her whatever she came up with to cheer her up.

Not that she really needed it anymore. Shortly after she had told Asami about her confrontation with her uncle about Christmas and her dream afterwards she was upset, yes, but just feeling Asami’s warm hand on her own made her instantly feel at peace again. But that didn’t mean she didn’t want to know what Asami had planned for her. So here she was, stepping impatiently from one foot to another, waiting for Asami.

“Are you done yet?”

“Just a sec,” came Asami’s muffled answer from the bedroom. She heard her shuffling around the room.

“Asami, if you don’t come out soon, I might as well just leav-” Korra’s breath caught in her throat as she turned around and she had to swallow hard.

“You were saying?” Asami grinned at Korra from her position at the bedroom door. One hand on her hip, the other touching the doorframe beside her head, Asami reveled in Korra’s stunned silence.

She was wearing red leather boots with a white fur finish that stopped just above her knees and gave way to a bright red plush skirt that rode up her thighs as she walked closer, hips swaying slightly. Her upper body was covered in a matching red jacket, also framed with white fur and hugging her torso tightly, the low neckline leaving nothing to the imagination. To complete the look, she wore a big plushy Santa hat that sat in a slight angle on her head.

Asami stopped inches away from Korra and looked her in the eyes as she asked in a low voice, “Are you still afraid of Santa?”

Korra didn’t know what to say. Her eyes were dark with desire and she had to swallow a lump in her throat. Instead of answering Asami with words, Korra took her face into her hands and pressed her lips hard on hers. Asami gave a soft whimper and knew she had been successful in her task to cheer Korra up. Without breaking their kiss, Korra put Asami’s legs around her waist and pushed through the bedroom door.

Korra might never think of Christmas innocently again, but at least now, when she saw a Santa figure, she would be able to smile about it from the bottom of her heart.

THE END

**Author's Note:**

> I know, Christmas is long over, but this idea recently popped into my head and I just head to write it down^^
> 
> English is not my first language. So, my apologies for any weird sounding sentences.


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